Operator for slide fastener on women&#39;s dresses



Jan. 21, 1958 c. J. M coLLY ETAL OPERATOR FOR SLIDE FASTENER 0N WOMENS DRESSES Filed Aug. 10, 1955 INVENTORS CHARLES J.McCOLLY LORAINE F.McCOL.LY

.25 20 I 21 BY United States Patent OPERATOR FOR SLIDE FASTENER ON WOMENS DRESSES Charles J. McColly and Loraine F. McColly, Milwaukee, Wis.

Application August 10, 1955, Serial No. 527,486

1 Claim. (Cl. 24--205.15)

This invention appertains to devices for facilitating the operation of slide fasteners, and more particularly for actuating such fasteners associated with garments and so placed that accessibility for manipulation is frequently inconvenient, awkward and dilficult.

Many articles of womens apparel are provided with zippers and slide fasteners going vertically up and down the center of the back, making it extremely difficult for the wearer to move the slide of the fastener.

Heretofore, attempts have been made to actuate the slide fastener by means of various types of utility devices. However, all of these have proven ditficult to use and do not provide adequate means for protecting the under-clothing or skin of the wearer, and/or are unduly complicated and diflicult to manufacture.

Therefore, a primary object of our present invention is to provide a device which is simple, practical and inexpensive and which may be used to actuate slide fasteners of the above character in an easy and convenient manner.

Another important object of our invention is to provide a novel device utilizing a hook secured to a strap or ribbon so that the hook may be detachably connected to the pull-tab or finger piece of the fastener and moved by means of the strap or ribbon to easily actuate the slide of the fastener element where actuation thereof would normally be difiicult and awkward.

A salient feature of our invention resides in the provision of a strap of sutficient length to be readily grasped in one hand when the hook of the strap is in position on the finger piece or pull-tab of the fastener and the fastener is in its open lower position.

A more specific object of our invention resides in the provision of a strap being provided at one end with a loop handle, and at the other end with a shield and a hook, the shield lying between the stringer portion of the slide fastener and the under-clothing to protect and prevent the fastener elements from entanglement with the clothing of the garment, under-garments or the skin of the wearer during closing operation.

A still further object of our invention is to provide a novel utility device of an attractive appearance and of a comparatively small size, and one which may be placed upon the market at a reasonable cost, and one which will be durable and efficient in use.

With the above and other objects in view, which will more readily appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter more fully described, illustrated and claimed.

A preferred and practical embodiment of our invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which drawings,

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic illustration, in perspective, of our novel device showing it in the proper position for closing the zipper and slide fastener;

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view ice of our novel device shown in its operative position for closing the slide fastener;

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary face view of the novel shield element of our device, certain parts being broken away and in section to illustrate further details of construction.

Figure 4 is a longitudinal sectional view through our device, the section being represented by the line 44 of Figure 3 of the drawings and looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, wherein similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, the letter A generally indicates one type of our improved device for actuating the zipper or slide fastener Z. The garment G and the slide fastener Z form no particular part of the present invention and both may be of any conventional design, but for the purposes of illustration the garment G has the slide fastener Z positioned in the back thereof and includes the conventional stringer 10, the slide 11 to which is pivoted the finger piece or pull-tab 12. The pull-tab or finger piece 12 is also provided with an aperture 13 at the outer end thereof. All of the above details are of a conventional design, and as previously stated, form no particular part of the present invention.

Our novel device A is constructed of a single piece of strap material 14 and in the preferred form the material is of the ribbon type, but it is understood that the strap may be made from plastic, leather, or any other type of flexible material.

In any event, the ribbon material 14 is folded to form, broadly, a loop handle 15, central strap body 16, and the lower shield element 17. It is to be noted that, the hook 18 is positioned at the transverse center of the shield element 17 intermediate the longitudinal length thereof, so that when the book 18 engages the finger piece 12 through the aperture 13 a portion 28 of the shield will underlie the slide 11 and prevent the undergarments or skin of the wearer from becoming entangled with the fastening elements or stringers 10 of the zipper or slide fastener Z.

It should be further noted that by folding the single piece of ribbon material 14 back upon itself, as illustrated, a top length 19 and a bottom length 20 is formed and the same are joined together by means of the lines of stitching 21. The lines of stitching 21 begin adjacent to the upper end 22 of the strap to form the loop handle 15, as previously described, and runs longitudinally to form the central strap body 16. The upper length 19 of the ribbon is folded or tucked in adjacent its lower end portion 28, as shown at 23, and the lower length 20 is folded back to provide a piece 24 which completely overlies the shield body 25. The shield body 25 is formed of a relatively stiff material such as plastic, cardboard or the like and the upper and lower lengths 19 and 20 and piece 24 of the ribbon material completely encloses the shield body 25 and all are firmly secured together by means of the transverse stitching 26.

The hook 18 may be secured to the shield portion as shown by any desired means, such as by sewing or by the rivet 27, as shown.

In the operation of my device, it is merely necessary to place the hook 18 in the aperture 13 of the pull-tab or finger piece 12 and extend the strap body 16 forward and over the shoulder so that the hand can readily grasp the loop handle 15. It should be noted in Figures 1 and 2 that the lower portion 28 of the shield 17 lies between the outer garment G and the under-garments or skin and prevents the hooks of the stringer elements 10 from entangling in the clothing or the skin of the wearer. With our novel device in the position shown in Figures 1 and 2, it is merely necessary to pull upwardly on the loop handle 15' and the slide Il'will move upward and close the zipper orfastening element Z in an expedint 'and easy manner.

From the foregoing, it. is believed that the features and advantages of my invention will be readily apparent 'to those skilled in the art, and it will of course be understood that changes in'the form, proportion, and minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claim.

What we claim as new is:

A device for actuating a slide fastener of the type having an apertured finger piece, comprising, an elongated smooth surfaced flexible strap formed from a single length of material folded and secured to give a double layer to said strap, a loop handle at one end of said strap, a rela tively stifi shield element secured to the other end of said strap, said shield element being inserted and secured between said strap layers, and a hook secured to said shield element adjacent the transverse center thereof and intermediate its longitudinal length, whereby the hook may engage the finger piece of said slide fastener to move the fastening element up. and down without the necessity of manually grasping the finger piece, with the shield lying between the fastening elements and the under-garments of the wearer.

Clark Nov. 28, 1950 Scheldorfer Dec. 22, 1953 

